Citi joins with CFI and Visa to launch Financial Inclusion 2020

January 29, 2013 01:00 PM
By Pamela Flaherty, Director of Corporate Citizenship, Citi and President & CEO of the Citi Foundation

More than 2 billion people around the world lack access to basic financial services such as savings accounts, credit cards, insurance, and a way to make or receive payments. Citi and the Citi Foundation have worked for decades to broaden financial inclusion among underserved individuals and markets, and this week those efforts took a massive step forward with the launch of Financial Inclusion 2020 (FI2020).

Citi is pleased to take a leadership role in joining the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion and Visa Inc. to convene longtime partners and invite new stakeholders to work together to create universal access to quality financial services and drive sustained economic growth. Expanding financial inclusion is both a development imperative for underserved communities and a forward-thinking approach to unlocking the economic potential of new markets.

Right now, FI2020 is working with more than 50 partners to develop the campaign's framework around the following themes: clients and products; technology; financial capability; client protection; and credit reporting. The framework and recommendations about how to achieve full financial inclusion will be presented at the Financial Inclusion 2020 Global Forum to be held on October 28-30, 2013 in London.

The Global Forum will be one of many ways in which FI2020 will engage a diverse group of stakeholders who can advance the financial inclusion mission, inspire and make investments in underserved markets, ensure the needs of consumers are met appropriately, and work in partnership across sectors to impact the lives of those who will benefit from access to the safety, security and convenience of the financial mainstream.

I welcome you to join us in these efforts, and please follow #FinancialInclusion2020 and #FI2020 on Twitter for more updates in the coming months.